Lock for sliding doors



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. C. ELSNER LOCK FOR SLIDING DOORS Nov. 17, 1959 Filed Jan. 24, 1958 INVENTOR.

m NW Nov. 17, 1959 E. c. ELSNER LOCK FOR SLIDING DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 24, 1958 w 3 INVENTOR- favw/v C ELSNER ATTORNEY United States Patent 6 F 2,913,272 LOCK FOR SLIDING noons Edwin c. Elsner, Glendale, Calif. Application January 24, 1958, Serial No. 711,071

: 7 Claims. (Cl. 292-27 This invention relates to a lock for sliding doors and particularly the doors of the type giving access from the 1nterior of a house to a patio or lanai.

An object of the present invention is to provide a catch-type lock that is operable only from the inside and which effects a secure connection between a sliding door and a jamb, and further secures against jimmying from the outside.

Another object of the invention is to provide a catch of the character above indicated in which locking members are provided for entry into a keeper in the door jamb and means is provided to hold said locking members spread and in lateral locking engagement with said keeper.

A further object of the invention is to provide a catch of the character referred to that includes means to vary the degree of projection of the keeper-engaging portion of the locking members, thereby enabling the catch to be used under a wide variation of space and dimension differences between the keeper on the jamb and the catch itself on the door.

The invention also for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the followingdescription. However, the drawings merely show and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary inside elevational view of a sliding door provided with a lock or catch according to the present invention, the latter being shown in projected position, as when engaged with a jamb.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the stile of the door in which the lock is mounted, showing the lock in exposed condition with a side plate thereof removed, the lock mechanism being shown in retracted position.

'Fig. 3 is a similar view showing said lock in locking position as engaged with a keeper on a jamb, or other fixed member, relative to which the sliding door, that mounts the lock, is movable.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational View of the lock as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the lock mechanism in the locking position of Figs. 1, 3, and 4.

Fig. 6 is a similar view, omitting the stile of the door in which the lock is mounted, and showing the lock in the retracted position of the parts thereof.

Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, respectively, are cross-sectional views as taken on the line 77 of Fig. 2 and the line 8-8 of Fig. 3. 4

The drawing shows, in fragmentary form, a stile 10 that is adapted to be moved toward and from a jamb 11. These parts are generally conventional and, as shown in 2,913,272 Patented Nov. 17, 1959 Fig. 8, the stile is adapted to fit into the jamb substantially in the manner indicated. The jamb is provided with a recess 25 receptive of the stile and the latter is provided with vertical ribs 26 that enter said recess and limit the position of the sliding door by engaging a cross Web 27 on the jamb. The stile is provided with a cross web 28 which is spaced from the Web 27 by the vertical ribs 26. 7

As shown in Fig. 8, the jamb Web 27 may serve as a keeper, in which case, the same is provided with a teetangular opening 29 preferably centrally disposed between the sides of the jamb. In some instances, in order to obtain improved wear properties for the keeper, a separate keeper plate may be affixed to the jamb web 27. Thus, the jamb may be made of a soft metal, such as aluminum, and the keeperplate of a harder and better-wearing material, such as steel. In any case, the rectangular opening 29 is provided in the keeper whether integrally formed with the jamb or aflixed thereto, as indicated. It will be realized that said keeper may vary in its spaced relationship to the web 28 of the stile 10. Also, its thickness may vary.

As shown best in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the web 28 of the stile 10 is formed'with an enlarged rectangular opening 30 of such size as to receive and accurately locate the lock or latch of the present invention. The latter comprises a housing 15, a control arm 16 pivotally carried in said housing, locking arms 17 carried on the same axis of pivot as the control arm 16 and controlled by the latter arm to move between unlocked and locked positions, a lost-motion connection 18 between the control arm 16 and the locking arms 17, spring means 19 biasing said arms toward each other and toward a central and symmetrical position in the lock, an operating handle means connected to control movement of the control arm and, through the latter, movement of the locking arms, and a projection controller 21 to limit the amount of projection of the locking members or arms 17 to suit the position and/or thickness of the keeper plate with which engaged. I

The lock housing 15 is of generally rectangular form and is shown as provided with a front face 31 that substantially fits the mentioned opening 30 in the stile web 28. The housing has a main housing part and a cover plate 32 on one side, removal of said plate affording access to the interior of the lock when dissociated from the stile. The housing is afiixed to the web 28 of the stile, as by screws or the like 33 that are adapted to pass through said web and engage ears 34 provided on the housing 15. The plate 32 constitutes one side wall of the housing and a second side wall 35 is integrally formed substantially in the manner shown on the housing part. The mentioned front face 31 of the lock housing is provided with a rectangular opening 36 in such position as to allow free movement therethrough of the latching or locking portions of the present construction.

The control arm 16 is provided with a transverse and integral pivot part 37 that has bearing in the opposed walls 32 and 35 of the housing 15, the bearing being a pivotal one. Said arm 16 extends from said bearing 37 as a lever 38, and the same, at its free end, is formed with a forwardly-directed tip or nose 39. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that said lever 38 and the nose 39 are entirely confined within the interior of the housing rearward of the wall 31 thereof, and from Fig. 3 that the same may be swung to a forward position with said tip 39 protruding from the mentioned rectangular opening 36 in the housing 15.

The locking arms 17 are arranged on each side of the control arm 16 and are formed to be alike but opposite so as to constitute a pair of arms that areoperatively associated with the arms 16 therebetween; Each locking arm 17 is formed to comprise a lever 40 that extends alongside of the lever 33 of arm 16, a forwardly directed cam part 41 that extends from each lever and is directed also angularly toward the opposite arm, and an oppositely angled lock portion -42 on the end of the projection 41. Thus, as may be seen in Fig. 7, the parts 41 and 42 of each arm 17 cooperate to form locking ends that are forward of and extend across the nose 39 of the control arm 16, and are adapted to be spread by said nose to increase the distance across the end of the part 42, as clearly shown in Fig. 8.

The lost-motion connection between the arms 16 and 17 is shown as a pin 43 that extends transversely through the lever 38 of the arm 16, and a hole or opening 44 in each lever 40 of the arms 17 and into which the mentioned pin protrudes. As can be best seen from Figs. 2 and 3, said holes 44 are substantially larger diametrally than the pin 43, so that there can be relative pivotal movement between the arm 16 and the arms 17 according to the difference in size of said hole and tip. The levers 49 of the arms 17 are so mounted on the bearing 37 that they are free to pivot forwardly and rearwardly on said bearings and also to spread :angularly under the spreading intrusion of the tip or nose 39 between the inbent cam portions 41 of the arms 17. To this end, said arms are provided with enlarged openings where the same are connected to the bearings 37 of the arm 16. Thus, the arms 17 have a double motion as above indicated.

The spring means 19 bias the arms 17 to a side-by-side and parallel position with arm 16, as may be clearly seen in Fig. 6. Said spring means 19 is shown as a pair of bowed leaf springs 45 that are interposed between the arms 17 and the respective side walls 32 and 35. Said spring members are located on the bearings 37 in the same manner as are the arms 17. It will be realized that the ends 46 of the spring members 45 have frictional bearing against the arms 17 that act to produce a positive movement of said arms under the control of the operating handle 2% and the lost-motion connection 18.

The operating handle means 20 is shown as a knob or the like 47 on a hub 43 that extends through an escutcheon plate 49, fastened by screws 50 to one side of the stile 1d. Said hub 48 may be bifurcated for a tongue 50 and the latter is adapted to enter into a comparably shaped transverse opening 51 in the bearing 37 of the arm 16. It will be clear that, through manipulation of the knob 47 and subsequent turning of the tongue 50, the arm 16 is movable between the two positions shown in the respective Figs. 2 and 3. Due to the mentioned spring hits, the movement of the arm 16, from its retracted to its projected position, causes a comparable movement of the locking arms 17. The latter arms will first move with the arm 16 because the nose or tip 39 of the arm 16 cannot spread the free ends of the arms 17 against the bias of said spring. However, after the arms 17 have been moved to their furthermost projected position and are held located in said position by the means 21 yet to be described, continued movement of the arm 16 may be had due to the lost motion of the means 18. Thus, while the locking arms are held stationary with respect to their forward position, the same become spread to the condition shown in Fig. by the additional forward movement of the tip or nose 39 of the arm 16. Thus, the locking ends of the arms 17 are in theclosetogether condition of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 as they move outwardly from the housing 15 and through the opening 29 in the keeper of the-jamb 11. It is only after said locking portions of the arms 17 achieve this furthermost projected position that-the nose or tip 39 spreads them, sothat the outer ends 42 of the locking portions of the arms 17 overstand the wall of the web 27 adjacent to the side edges of the opening 29'therein, This latched or locked position is clearly shown in Fig. 8, and it will be realized that the sliding door cannot be retracted away from the jam-b until the nose or tip 39 has been withdrawn from between the locking portions locking levers.

Opening of the catch or lock is simply effected by a reverse turning movement of the knob 47, in which case the control arm is withdrawn, as above suggested, and the lost-motion means 18 becomes effective to cause sequential retraction from the keeper opening 29 of the locking portions of the locking levers 13 as the control lever is moved toward its retracted position as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the catch is opened and the sliding door may be moved away from its jamb 11.

The projection controller 21 is shown as a block 52 that is provided with an abutment 53, a projection 54 on each end of the lever 40 of the locking arms 17 in position to engage said abutment 53 when said arms are moved to locking position, and means in the form of an adjusting screw 55 mounted in the housing 15 and threadedly engaged with the block 52. Said screw is adapted to be rotated to adjust the position of the abutment '53 inward or outward, as the case may be, thereby controlling the forward limit of position of the locking parts of the locking arms 17. The position shown is an intermediate one and it 'will be realized that the projected position of the locking arms may be increased by adjusting the block 52 toward the right in Fig. 3 and the projected position of said parts reduced by adjusting said block toward the left.

While the locking portions 42 are shown spread wider than the opening 36, in practice, the spread may be smaller than said opening. Therefore, should the lockingportions be left projected and the door slid against the jamb, said portions 42 together with lever 38 may fold or swing back into the housing to obviate damage.

While the foregoing specification illustrates and describes what I now contemplate to be the best mode of carrying out my invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Therefore, I do not desire to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but desire to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

.l. A lock for sliding doors comprising a pivotally movable control arm having a nose extension, a handle to move said arm to move thenose between retracted and projected positions, a pair of locking arms mounted on the axis of movement of the control arm and provided with angularly directed portions in the path of movement of the control arm tip when being projected to spread the same, spring means biasing the locking arms in a direction counter to such spreading of the locking arms, a lostmotion connection between the control arm and the looking arms enabling the former to move relatively to the latter during both retracting and projecting movements thereof whereby thelocking arms are spread when projected and returned to non-spread position by the spring means when retracted, and divergent locking extensions on the angularly-directed portions that cooperate with the latter portions to engage in the opening of a keeper with which the lock is operatively associated.

2. A lock according to claim 1 in which a housing is provided for said arms and spring means, a bearing is provided on the control arm and in pivotal engagement with'the housing, and the locking arms are pivotally carried by said bearing.

3. A look according to claim 1 in which a housing is provided for said arms and spring means, a bearing is provided on the control arm and in pivotal engagement with the housing, said bearing being cylindrical, and each locking arm having an oversize clearance opening over said'cylindrical bearing so that said locking arms are pivotally movable around said bearings under control of the lost-motion means, and angularly movable in a transof the 5 verse direction under control of the nose of the control arm, in one direction, and the biasing force of the spring means, in the other direction.

4. -A lock according to claim 1 provided with means to limit the projected position of the locking portions of the locking members, and means to adjust the latter means to adjust the amount of projection of the locking portions.

5. A lock for sliding doors comprising a housing, a control arm having a nose extension and mounted in said housing to pivot and thereby move said nose extension between a retracted position within the housing and a projected position, a control handle for said arm, a pair of locking arms, one on each side of the control arm and mounted to pivot on the axis of the latter arm, locking extensions on the locking arms, cam portions on said locking arms in the path of projected movement of the nose extension to spread the locking extensions during projection of the control arm, and a lost-motion connection between the control arm and the locking arms whereby the former moves first during movement in either direction of the locking arms.

6. A lock for sliding doors comprising a housing, a control arm having a nose extension and mounted in said housing to pivot and thereby move said nose extensions between a retracted position within the housing and a projected position, a control handle for said arm, apair of locking arms, one on each side of the control arm and mounted to pivot on the axis of the latter arm, locking extensions on the locking arms, cam portions on said locking arms in the path of projected movement of the nose extension to spread the locking extensions during projection of the control arm, spring means biasing the locking arms to a non-spread position with the locking extensions thereof contracted, and a lost-motion connection between the control arm and the locking arms whereby the former moves first during movement of the locking arms in either direction.

7. A lock according to claim 6 provided with means to limit the projected position of the locking portions of the locking members, and means to adjust the latter means to adjust the amount of projection of the locking portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 641,269 Clay Jan. 16, 1900 1,478,343 Looney Dec. 16, 1923 1,777,951 Wolfi Oct. 7, 1930 

